Reunited in Good Hope (A Good Hope Novel Book 8)

by Cindy Kirk

  “Let the feasting begin,” Krew announced, and everyone cheered.

  In addition to the pizza, there were glasses of ice and bottles of brand-name soda, even a new sippy cup filled with milk for Axl.

  This time, they ate around a sleek table with a glossy ebony lacquer finish and enough chairs for everyone. The boys’ questions had Krew regaling them with tales from his years in the NFL.

  Though most were humorous, it was clear he’d worked hard for his success. Just like what he’d told her, anything worth achieving didn’t come easy.

  “This is nice.” Impulsively, Cassie leaned over and gave Dakota a hug. “I’m glad we can spend this time together.”

  Dakota hugged her back. “Me, too.”

  After they’d eaten their fill of pizza, followed by sour cream brownies so rich, Cassie could eat only one, Dakota pushed back from the table.

  “I’m going to put on the Christmas music,” she announced. “Perhaps we can sing some carols later.”

  Braxton choked on his last bite of pizza.

  K.T. laughed and pounded his brother on his back.

  Dakota, apparently oblivious to his distress, grabbed Braxton’s arm. “You’ve got to see the sound system. It’s amazing.”

  “I want to see it, too,” K.T. called to their retreating backs before scooping up Axl and hurrying after them.

  Cassie waited until she was certain she and Krew were finally alone to speak. “I’m happy about the car, Krew. It’s a load off my mind knowing she’ll have a dependable vehicle. I just wish you’d discussed it with me first.”

  “I don’t know why I didn’t think to mention it. But, Cass, if you truly recognize me as Dakota’s father, you can’t expect me to ask your permission for everything.” Krew blew out a breath. “This is a father taking care of his child, something I should have been doing for the past nineteen years. The thing is, you’re operating under an old model where you had to do it all alone. That isn’t true anymore. You can share that load with me. Does any of this make sense?”

  Cassie sighed. “It does.”

  “I am sorry that it caught you by surprise.” Krew slung an arm around her shoulders. “Forgive me?”

  “Oh, I suppose.”

  He smiled when he saw the teasing smile tugging at her lips.

  His gaze lingered on her mouth, and her lips began to tingle. She lifted her face, ready for his kiss.

  Strains of Mariah Carey’s version of “All I Want for Christmas is You” filled the air as their lips melded together in an all-too-brief moment. Before she could fully step out of his arms, footsteps echoed on the hardwood.

  Cassie turned, Krew’s arm still around her shoulders, to see Dakota skid to a stop.

  Her daughter glanced from her dad to Cassie.

  “Where are the boys?” Cassie took a casual step away from Krew, traitorous heat firing in her cheeks.

  “Nosing around the house.” Confusion furrowed Dakota’s brow. “What are you two doing?”

  “Talking.” Krew turned to Cassie. “Will picking you up at seven tomorrow work? Or is that too late?”

  “Tomorrow?” Two tiny lines formed between Dakota’s brows.

  “I invited your mom to join us at Rakes Farm tomorrow.”

  “What about Axl?” Dakota inclined her head. “That’s pretty late for him to be out.”

  “His brothers will watch him.”

  Dakota frowned. “You’ve been leaving him a lot lately.”

  The blow hit its target. Cassie had to have caregivers for Axl when she worked; there was no getting around that. But Dakota was right. These other activities were unnecessary.

  “I hardly think Axl is suffering.” Krew glanced at the little boy, currently giggling while being held upside down by Braxton as he strolled into the room. “Your mother has a right to get out, too.”

  “I think you forfeit that right when you have children.” Dakota’s eyes narrowed on Cassie. “Your child should be your priority, not your social life. Or your boyfriend.”

  If Krew thought Dakota was speaking about him, he was mistaken. The look in her daughter’s eyes told her exactly who Dakota was talking about.

  She’ll never forgive me, Cassie thought. Ignoring the stabbing pain in her heart and stealing a page from the Krew Slattery playbook, Cassie changed the subject. “I can’t wait to decorate the tree.”

  K.T., the artist, took charge of the lights. “I did my research. We need three sets of one hundred lights each for every foot of the tree.”

  “This is a seven-footer,” Braxton announced after surveying the fir, his thumbs hooked in the belt loops of his jeans.

  Dakota glanced at K.T., who was pulling packages of lights out of a sack, then back at her mother.

  For a second, Cassie thought Dakota would return to their conversation, but Dakota shifted her focus back to K.T. “Do we have enough?”

  “We can always get more—” Krew began.

  “Nope. We have just enough.” When Dakota reached for a package, K.T. hugged some light sets to his chest. “You can’t just start tossing these up there, Dakota.”

  “I wasn’t going to toss them up there. I was going to start at the bottom—”

  She made another grab, but K.T. turned and blocked her.

  “You don’t start at the bottom.” K.T. blew out a breath.

  Dakota put her hands on her hips. “Then tell me, smart guy, how do you do it?”

  “You start at the top near the trunk,” he began, while Braxton returned to the table for another brownie.

  “…three triangular sections.”

  Cassie was distracted from the sibling squabbling when Krew stepped close.

  “Okay, so you wrap around the tree from the top. Got it.”

  “You’re not listening.” K.T. swatted Dakota’s hand away when she once again reached for the lights. “You weave the lights back and forth across the triangle.”

  “Oh, come on, K.T. You’re making this way too complicated.”

  Braxton stood back, feeding Axl bits of brownie.

  “Are they always like this?” Krew asked Cassie.

  “Sometimes it’s worse,” Braxton said as he handed Axl to Krew.

  Recalling Dakota’s earlier words about her pawning off her youngest to anyone and everyone, Cassie held out her hands. “I can hold him.”

  Axl’s only response was to wrap his arms around Krew’s neck. “Dad.”

  Cassie froze for just a second. But it was long enough for Axl to lean back in Krew’s arms, look him straight in the eyes and pat his cheeks with both hands. “My dad.”

  Braxton rolled his eyes.

  K.T. and Dakota continued their conversation, though Cassie noticed they’d moved on to stringing the lights.

  “I’m sorry,” Cassie said to Krew before focusing on her youngest. “Axl, this is Krew. Can you say Kr-ew?”

  The little boy studied her for a long moment, then patted Krew’s cheeks again. “Dad.”

  Krew chuckled. “It’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay.”

  “He’s a little boy, Cass.” Krew’s eyes met hers. “I don’t mind. Really.”

  She remembered the offer he’d made when they were in Green Bay. He would marry her and adopt Axl. He hadn’t been serious, of course.

  What an odd thing to think of now.

  “If I call you Dad, will you buy me a car?” Braxton somehow managed to keep a straight face, but Cassie saw the laughter in his eyes.

  Krew swung the little boy in his arms down before answering, “I believe it’s time to get out the ornaments.”

  Cassie stood back as Axl studied one of the unbreakable ornaments that Krew had purchased specifically for the little boy.

  Her youngest had already placed a wooden reindeer, a ball and a penguin on the lower branches. This ornament was even more appealing—a bright green race car with wheels that actually moved.

  Axl’s face scrunched up as he pulled the car tight against his chest. “Mine.”r />
  “Axl, honey.” Cassie kept her voice calm, knowing it was past his bedtime and a wrong move would ignite the tantrum simmering just below the surface. “That’s for the tree.”

  Dakota crossed to her little brother in several long strides and scooped him up. “Would you like your car to be on a branch way up high?”

  “Nooo. I want it.” Axl struggled in her arms until Dakota had no choice but to set him on the floor.

  Fueled by fatigue and sugar, Axl was now, officially, out of control. Before Cassie could reach him, he flung himself back, his head smacking against the hardwood. His cry of outrage changed to shrieks.

  Cassie was to him in seconds, scooping the screaming boy up into her arms. Her gaze shifted to Krew. “Do you have an ice bag?”

  Worry raced through Cassie as she felt the knot already forming at the back of his head. “Axl, sweetie, let Mommy check…”

  He screamed even louder as she separated the hair to see if he was bleeding. No blood, just a knot that seemed to be growing larger by the second.

  “Will this work?” Krew returned and knelt beside her.

  “Yes. Thanks.” Cassie pressed the ice bag firmly against the back of Axl’s head. “Braxton, get the phone out of my purse and turn on the flashlight. Check his pupils while I hold him.”

  “I can do it,” Dakota offered.

  “I know the drill.” Braxton squatted in front of Axl, whose sobs were now more of the hiccup-ping kind. “Hey, brat, I’m going to shine this light in your face. Pretend I’m a policeman.”

  Cassie might have found the remark humorous at another time. Not now.

  Despite his lighthearted tone, Braxton’s expression turned serious as he flashed the light.

  Almost immediately, Axl began to squirm. “I wanna play.”

  Braxton met Cassie’s gaze. “All good.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Equal and reactive,” Braxton confirmed.

  “You really do know the drill,” Krew said to Braxton, appearing impressed.

  Cassie released her hold on the struggling boy, and Axl scrambled to his feet.

  “Should we take him to the hospital? Just to be sure?” Krew glanced worriedly at the boy

  Slowly rising to her feet, Cassie gestured to her youngest, who was now pointing to the car near the top of the tree, which Dakota immediately retrieved for him. “He took quite a hit, but it doesn’t seem like he has a concussion. He isn’t bleeding, and he wants to play.”

  “All good signs,” Braxton added.

  At Krew’s look of surprise, Braxton grinned. “I have two younger brothers. This sh—ah, stuff, happens all the time.”

  Dakota found another car in the pile of ornaments and handed it to Axl. “Look, Axl. Now you have two cars.”

  “Mine.” Axl held out one of the cars to her, then quickly pulled it back out of reach.

  Cassie noticed that even Dakota smiled at the classic Axl move.

  The rest of the decorating went smoothly, with K.T. trying to direct the others to put the ornaments where his artistic eye thought they would look best.

  His brothers and sister ignored him. K.T. finally gave up and joined the fun.

  Cassie was conscious of Krew’s every move. The rich, intoxicating scent of his cologne wrapped around her each time he lifted a hand to place an ornament on the tree. The sounds of applewood crackling in the hearth provided the perfect accompaniment to the Christmas melodies wafting from the home’s stereo system.

  The tree grew more beautiful with each colorful bulb added to its branches. Happiness bubbled in Cassie’s veins as her children laughed and joked with her and Krew. Axl continued to add some of the unbreakable objects to the bottom of the tree and hoard others in a pile he’d started by the sofa.

  “It’s beautiful.” Dakota took several steps back, her gaze traveling up and down the massive fir.

  “It turned out better than I imagined,” K.T. admitted. “It still needs something at the top.”

  “I have just the thing.” Krew pulled a brilliant silver star out of a sack that Cassie hadn’t noticed before. “I think your mom should place it.”

  “Works for me.” Braxton glanced at K.T. and Dakota, who both nodded.

  Axl had decided it was time to play with all the ornaments, er, toys he’d been hoarding.

  “Me and Brax thought we might check out the pinball machines we spotted in the game room.” Though a statement, Cassie saw the question in her son’s eyes.

  The boys would stay while she put the topper on the tree, if that’s what she wanted. But this night was as much about them having an enjoyable evening as it was about her.

  “That’s fine. Thank you both for the stellar job you did on the tree,” she told them. “It’s been fun.”

  “Yeah,” Braxton conceded. “It was.”

  “Can I play pinball, too?” Dakota asked, then glanced at her mother. “Or do you want me to keep an eye on Axl?”

  “No. Krew and I will keep an eye on him.”

  “This has been really nice.” Dakota’s voice thickened. “I only wish Axl hadn’t gotten hurt.”

  “He’ll be fine.” Cassie gave her daughter a hug. “Beat the socks off your brothers.”

  Dakota laughed. “I’ll do my best.”

  Cassie turned back to Krew.

  He’d pulled a small stepladder close to the tree. When he held out a hand to her, she couldn’t help but smile.

  “This has been a wonderful evening.” She placed her hand in his and felt the surge of heat. “Thank you.”

  “It isn’t over yet.” His gaze lifted to the top of the tree. “When I spotted this tree, it was you I saw placing the star at the top.”

  The air turned thick, and Cassie had trouble catching her breath. Her smile was wobbly, and she felt not quite steady as she placed a foot on the small ladder and began to climb.

  She paused when she reached the top step, the shiny star clutched tightly in one hand. Krew released her hand and settled both of his on her waist.

  It took her several seconds to secure the star at the top and then to attach it to the string of lights. Finally, she nodded in satisfaction and looked down with a triumphant smile.

  “Beautiful.” Krew’s eyes were dark as he gazed up at her.

  Cassie flushed. Why did she have the feeling he wasn’t speaking about the star?

  Her gaze locked with his. Energy surged, and the air pulsated. Once again, Cassie felt breathless and a little giddy.

  She glanced around the living area as she slowly stepped down. From the dinging of bells and shouts of triumph, her children were enjoying the game room immensely.

  Axl appeared totally absorbed with his toys.

  For the moment, it was just her and Krew. The attraction that had only continued to build since they’d returned from Green Bay reached a fever pitch.

  When her feet hit the hardwood, Krew remained where he was, not giving her room, but not crowding her, either. His eyes remained watchful.

  “I’m glad you came tonight.” His voice was low and husky. When he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, she suppressed a shiver.

  As if on autopilot, her arms rose to encircle his neck. “I’m glad, too.”

  His lips closed over hers, and every worry Cassie had disappeared in the rightness of that moment.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Instead of riding to the party with her parents, Dakota drove her new car to Rakes Farm. She wanted to show off her ride to her friends who were home for the holidays.

  The majority of attendees at this event were as old as her parents. Which was why, two hours later, she stood alone in Jeremy and Fin’s grand home wondering why she was still here. The outdoor activities had ended an hour ago. Her friends, after oohing and aahing over her car, had left.

  Anita, vibrant and festive in red, stood by the fireplace beside her boyfriend.

  Her mother and Krew were laughing with Owen and Lindsay about something that was obviously
uproariously funny.

  Bored, Dakota studied her mother. Cassie had mentioned wanting to go for a ride in her new car.

  Dakota crossed the room, emboldened by her mother’s welcoming smile. She was struck by the thought that her mom was pretty. Maybe it was the bright smile or the fact that Cassie wore a blue sweater that flattered her coloring. Whatever the reason, tonight she looked pretty, happy and surprisingly young.

  “Hey, sweetie.” Cassie leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Are you having fun?”

  Krew shot Dakota a wink, then returned his attention to something Owen was saying.

  “I thought maybe I could take you for a ride in my car.” Dakota spoke quickly, wanting to get all the words out. She willed her mother to see just how much this meant to her. “You’ve been wanting to take a ride, and we haven’t had much of a chance to talk recently.”

  While Dakota had grown to love her father, it seemed to her that her mom spent a lot of time with him and very little with her. Surely her mother would understand just how important this girl time was to her. Especially since she’d be leaving for college in a few weeks.

  “Oh, Dakota, I’d really love to go, but—” Cassie glanced at Krew.

  When they exchanged a smile and his hand stole around her mother’s waist, Dakota’s anger meter shot into the red zone. Some of the temper came from sleeping poorly last night, upset and worried about Axl and his injury. Then she’d started thinking about returning to campus a whole semester behind her friends. Would everyone treat her differently when it came out that Krew Slattery, NFL superstar, was her father?

  There was so much she wanted—needed—to discuss with her mother. Her mom had a knack for quieting her fears.

  “How about we do it tomorrow?” Cassie inclined her head. “Do you have to work? I’m sure we can find—”

  “A man always comes before me.” Dakota pushed the words past suddenly numb lips.

  Cassie straightened away from Krew, clearly alarmed.

  For some reason, her mother’s concern over what others would think only fueled Dakota’s rising anger.

  “I find out I have a dad, and instead of giving me a chance to get to know him, you’re all over him. You—”